Edit: Written 13 Mar 2020. Numbers reflect what was known at the time. Some math has been refined for accuracy.<\/p>\n
Some folks are trying to downplay COVID-19. One Facebook post in particular mentioned some mortality figures about the common, run-of-the-mill flu. “Say… X people died from it, and there was no panic.”<\/p>\n
I’ll provide some sourced figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Granted, this is preliminary data but should illustrate the seriousness of COVID-19.<\/p>\n
US Flu Season 2019-2020<\/a>:<\/p>\n US COVID-19 (as of 13 Mar 2020)<\/a>:<\/p>\n Observed case fatality among confirmed cases is ~2.5%, but true mortality is uncertain due to under-testing.<\/p>\n If you dig a little deeper, it gets even more serious. Take a look at these COVID-19 numbers. Average mortality hides how uneven the risk really is:<\/p>\n If you have underlying medical conditions — like diabetes, heart disease, cancer survivor, immuno-compromised — you’re at a higher risk of death.<\/p>\n So, yeah, it’s kind of a big deal.<\/p>\n Aside from mortality rates, you know what else is interesting? The R\u2080 — or basic reproduction — factor. This number indicates how many other people will become infected once exposed to a carrier.<\/p>\n\n
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